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Thursday 19 Jun 2025

Network Rail enlists hawks to prevent a halt in station’s £14m overhaul

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Eastern

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Meet Maverick – a feathered enforcer whose job is to ensure nesting birds don’t cause costly delays to Network Rail’s £14 million upgrade of Scarborough station.

The 15-month-old harris hawk puts in two shifts a week at the coastal rail terminus – keeping gulls and crows from settling on the soon-to-be-replaced roof.

Old slates have been removed already – and nesting birds could mean work having to stop during the critical summer months of the extensive 12-month project.

Maverick and fellow winged seaside sentry Lily patrol the site for an hour each visit and are rewarded with food from their Rentokil-employed keeper. Their arrival for work at the grade II-listed station always provokes a lively, squawking response from the surrounding birds – which often try standing their ground before sensibly retreating from the area.

The hawks are kept under close control – eating only their pre-prepared food – and their patrol routes have allowed other birds to remain on sections of the roof which will not be touched until after nesting season.

Ann Shannon, scheme project manager for Network Rail, said: “This is a £14 million project which will make a massive difference to this historical station. Nesting would be a problem because if eggs were laid, we’d have to stop our work. As we’re replacing the roof, It could mean us losing two critical months this summer, and the costs would be phenomenal.

“We’re making major changes which will hugely improve Scarborough station for passengers and staff. This restoration will also include stonework and lighting repairs, upgrades to the ticket office, waiting area and drainage system, and improvements to the clocktower.

“The changes will improve safety for station users – and preserve the building for generations to come.”

The roof repair project began in 2021 after a glazing failure. The station was made safe and, after funding constraints were overcome, the full restoration started in April this year with a target completion of the end of March 2026.

The coastal location has meant other considerations aside from the seaside birds. Specific types of paint and timber are used because of the high salt content in the air. Welsh Ffestiniog slate is being fitted on the roof because it’s tougher and should last about a century, while the valleys between the roof glazing are being made deeper to cope with a one-in-100-year weather event.

Another major consideration has been fire safety. A full fireproof cover has been needed between the platform and roof works – meaning an extensive custom-designed ventilation system was required as fumes from the engines cannot currently escape naturally through the louvre windows. An hourly “air purge” is done through the fans, while some of the ground floor windows have been removed to aid ventilation.

Scott Day, senior project manager at main contractors Colt Construction, said: “We developed the project through Network Rail’s PACE (Project Acceleration in a Controlled Environment) design stages, and then won the tender to deliver the scheme.

“It’s not just a roofing project, it’s an improvement of a listed building, with upgraded stonework, painting, drainage – it’s a complete scheme protecting an important listed building.

“Once the funding was in place, we reacted quickly to get the site set up. We’ve been in contact with the residents and businesses to inform them of what’s happening and shown them that what the future of the station will look like once it's complete. It’s exciting times for us and the community.”

Aiden How, from Rentokil Pest Control, said: “With it being the breeding season for gulls right now, we’re using birds of prey as a natural form of pest control to discourage any nesting while work is happening on the roof.

“Flying birds of prey over the station roof deters the gulls from wanting to nest there as they see them as a threat, and so they will look at other locations in which to breed. Maverick knows when he’s on site, and he’s ready to go pretty much as soon as he comes out of the van. He knows he’s off to work and he’s rewarded with food, so it means dinner time!”

Chris Nutton, major projects director at TransPennine Express, said: “The repairs to Scarborough station roof will deliver significant improvements to the station and restore the grade II-listed building.

“Our thanks to Network Rail and our partners who are doing all they can to keep this project moving and secure the future of this historic station. We would like to thank our customers for their patience while work is taking place over the next 12 months."

Passengers are advised that while disruption is being kept to a minimum, there may be some localised changes to station access during certain phases of the work. These changes will be sign-posted throughout the station.